Logic Your Way into Writing

Spring 2023

Instructor Information
Instructor Email Office Location & Hours
Kevin Kau Kevinkau@ntu.edu.tw By appointment

TA Email
Thiri d10922027@ntu.edu.tw

General Information
Description
Many students and researchers struggle to write and communicate their research in a way that is both
intuitive and convincing, especially but not limited to a cross disciplinary setting. This course will help prepare
students to write more clearly, make it easier for their audience to understand what they are saying, and to train
students to offer enough support in the direct and indirect arguments that they make within the context of their
research writing
This course will focus on training students to analyze, create, and support arguments in their academic
writing. Students will learn to develop their critical thinking skills and incorporate these skills into their own
writing, with the goal of well-presented logical writing within the context of a research article and persuasive
writing in general. In addition, this class will also focus on writing clarity, style, and flow.
Emphasis will also be placed on communicating research through both speaking and writing as a way to
facilitate understanding and communication. This will involve conducting audience/reader analysis, using more
active sentence constructions, incorporating syntactic and semantic clarity, utilizing progression and transition
strategies, as well as evaluating overall language and jargon usage.
In addition, students will learn to develop their critical reading skills in order to present and support
research arguments in writing. Critical reading will involve multiple ways of evaluating academic arguments for
clarity and logic, while also identifying any logic and argument shortcomings in student’s own writing.
In terms of logic, this course primarily focuses on Informal logic, as well and Deductive and Inductive
critical thinking skills. These elements of logic will focus and be adapted for an academic writing and oral
communication setting.
This class will be conducted through a combination of lecture and group work. While there will be a
lecture component for each class, this class relies heavily on group work as a means for students to apply the
content that is presented in class, and also for the exchange of ideas and opinions. This exchange of ideas will be
based on class tasks and activities, but in addition to this, students will be providing peer feedback to each other.
This peer feedback will focus on how well the students communicate (through writing and/or speaking) their
research, thought process, and their position and arguments.
This course will be taught completely in English and will focus on both writing in the sciences as well as
the humanities.

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Course Content
 Critical Thinking – Making and Supporting Arguments
 Writing General-specific Texts
 Writing Style (cohesion/concision/etc…)
 Common grammar issues
 Data Commentary
 Persuasive writing
 Writing Critiques
 Presentation Skills / 3 minute Thesis Presentation

Course Objectives
The primary aim of this course is to develop students’ ability to use critical reading, logic, and common
rhetorical functions in organizing and writing for academic research. The course focuses on specific rhetorical
writing skills such as: definition, description, and argumentation. Major written assignments in this course will
focus on incorporating these rhetorical strategies, as well as logical progression and clear and descriptive style, to
communicate students’ research to a cross-disciplinary audience. The instructional means adopted in this course
include lectures, discussion, and hands-on practice.
By the end of the course, students will be able to:
1. Critically evaluate and analyze a variety of texts for academic purposes.
2. Identify features of academic writing in the sciences and the humanities and apply the knowledge of
academic writing to organize ideas into a logical and coherent text.
3. Utilize writing and rhetorical strategies for coherence and concision
4. Critique an Editorial or Academic article by identifying fallacies and unclear/unsound logic, and writing
in a way that is understandable and clear for a more general audience
5. Evaluate writing for clarity
6. Formulate academic arguments that are well supported through writing using concepts of Aristotelian
logic
7. Develop proof-reading and self-editing skills
8. Present their research in both writing and speaking to a cross-disciplinary/multidisciplinary audience
and to increase the intelligibility of their research by utilizing content design and rhetorical strategies.

Course Expectations
 Class attendance and participation is required. If you are absent for more than 3 classes in a semester, or
are often late and/or leave early, your final course grade may be negatively impacted
 Lectures are presented in English. All student work will be submitted in English. In class discussions
should be conducted for the most part in English
 This course is not open to undergraduates or auditors

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  Although we do not evaluate English levels, students will need to self-evaluate their ability to determine if
they have a sufficient level.
 All materials are in English. If students need help with advanced grammar for academic writing, I
recommend taking the AWEC’s Fundamentals of English Writing class before taking this class.
 Registration by CEIBA does not guarantee students a place in this course. Enrollment will be determined
by application and a summary of students’ needs and objectives in writing on the first day of the course.
 Late assignments will not be accepted
 This class will use both CEIBA and Google Classroom. Make sure you familiarize yourself with both
systems throughout the semester.

Grading
 Class / HW Assignments = 10%
 Life Raft Paper and Presentation = 20%
 Persuasive Writing Piece = 20%
 Debate 1 = 10%
 Debate 2 = 10%
 3 Minute Thesis Presentation = 15%
 Participation = 10%
 Quizzes = 5%

Your participation grade is at the complete discretion of the instructor. However, participation grades will be
influenced by the items listed below.
 Attending all classes.
 Submitting homework assignments by deadlines.
 Giving and receiving feedback to your group.
 Participating in evaluations of presenters from other groups.
 Initiating discussion, sharing knowledge and experience with other presenters.
 Presenting to your group and to the class.
 Doing assigned tasks during class.
 Being prepared for class.
 Completing, reading or watching assigned homework materials.
 Bringing all needed materials to every class

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  Interacting with the instructor--verbally and/or by email.
Letter Grades Descriptions

A+ All goals achieved beyond expectation.

A All goals achieved.

A- All goals achieved, but need some polish.

B+ Some goals well achieved.

B Some goals adequately achieved.

B- Some goals achieved with minor flaws.

C+ Minimum goals achieved.

C Minimum goals achieved with minor flaws.

C- Minimum goals achieved with major flaws.

F Minimum goals not achieved.

X Not graded due to unexcused absences or other reasons.

Letter Grades GPAs Raw Score Range

A+ 4.3 90-100
A 4.0 85-89
A- 3.7 80-84
B+ 3.3 77-79
B 3.0 73-76
B- 2.7 70-72
C+ 2.3 67-69
C 2.0 63-66
C- 1.7 60-62
F 0 Below 59
X 0 0

Class Materials
Readings will be given to you by the instructor

Class Schedule
Subject to change. The instructor will make announcements in class of any deviations from this schedule.

Week LECTURES & DISCUSSIONS Major Assignment

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 - Course Introduction
1 - What is Critical Thinking?
- Introduction to Critical thinking: Conclusion and Premise
- Identifying Conclusion and Premise(s)
2 - Types of arguments
- Writing: Cohesion and Progression Patterns
- Argument Mapping
3
- Fallacies of Irrelevance and Ambiguity
- Mapping an Article
4 - Fallacies Involving Unwarranted Assumptions
- Article / Editorial Critique
- Article / Editorial Critique: Peer Review
5 - Presentation Skills: Basics - Life Raft: First draft
-
- Logic and Language Continued
6 - Crtique: Peer Review
-
- Writing: Mechanics, Grammar + Style
- Life Raft: Second Draft
7 - Logical Fallacies Continued
-
- Ambiguity
- Persuasive Arguments into Persuasive Writing
8 - Developing and Supporting Arguments continued
- Message Box Approach
- Life Raft: Final Draft
9 - Life Raft: Presentation

- Persuasive Writing: Peer Review

10
- Logical transitions and connectors

- Debate Prep - Persuasive Writing First Draft

11
- Probability and specificity

12 - Debate 1 - Debate 1

- 3 Minute Thesis: Introduction - Persuasive Writing Second

13 - Draft

14 - 3MT Workshop -

- Persuasive Writing: Peer Review - 3MT Presentations

15 - Debate preparation

- Persuasive Writing Final Draft

16 - Debate 2 - Debate 2

References
- Browne, M. N., & Keeley, S. M. (2007). Asking the right questions: A guide to critical thinking.
Upper Saddle River, NJ: Bowling Green State University.

- Glasman-Deal, H. (2016). Science research writing: For non-native speakers of English. London:
Imperial College Press.

- Moore, B. N., & Parker, R. B. (2015). Critical thinking. New York: McGraw-Hill Education.

- Minto, B. (2010). The pyramid principle: Logic in writing and thinking. London: Financial Times
Prentice Hall.

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- Morrow, D.R., Weston, A. (2015) A Workbook for Arguments: A complete course in critical
thinking, 2nd Edition. Indianapolis, IN.: Hackett Publishing Company.

- Pyrczak, F., & Bruce, R. R. (2017). Writing empirical research reports: A basic guide for students of
the social and behavioral sciences. London: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group.

- Redman, P., & Maples, W. (2017). Good essay writing: A social sciences guide. London: SAGE
Publications in association with the Open University.

- Swales, J. M., & Feak, C. B. (2017). Academic writing for graduate students: essential tasks and
skills. Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan Press.

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